Evan Weber
Sports Editor
It was the peak of summer heat, and I could barely find any shade. I was attending a baseball game at the Coliseum, home to the Oakland Athletics and considered by many to be the worst stadium in baseball – it felt much too large for the quaint pastime of baseball.
But this was the legendary Coliseum where Rickey Henderson tore through the bases and John Madden prowled on the sidelines. It was here that Billy Beane invented Moneyball, proving to the world that the underdog can win.
So when I was walking on the water-stained floor and saw the mold growing on the ceiling, I questioned whether I was on the once-famed ground. How did we go from a city gleaming with championship rings to a land of ghosts? What happened to Oakland?
Oakland has always been the least loved child of the California Bay Area. Located east of San Francisco, Oakland was built on hard work, street smarts, and total grit. The city didn’t have the fame of the Golden Gate Bridge or the wealth of Silicon Valley, but the city’s heart still beats strong.
The Raiders won three championships in 1976, 1980 and 1983. The A’s most notably won three World Series in a row from 1972 to 1974. It was in Oakland where Steph Curry founded the Warriors Dynasty.
From baseball to football to basketball, all Oakland sports had this trademark fighting spirit. None of these teams were big-budget rosters filled with star free-agents, but they were able to claw their way to the championship with home-grown talent. Oakland fully embraced their place as the underdog, utilizing their street smarts and unwavering willpower to win.
But now Oakland has no one to root for. The Warriors, now no longer an underdog franchise, relocated to the richer waters of San Francisco in 2019. The Raiders moved to Las Vegas in 2020. The A’s just played their last game in the Coliseum on Sep. 29, before temporarily relocating to Sacramento while their permanent ballpark is being built in Las Vegas.
As a Bay Area native, I can’t help but sympathize with Oakland. The city has long experienced loss after loss, but the fans remain incredibly passionate, living out the Oakland spirit of hard work and grit.
Oakland, like the Coliseum, is a relic of aged victory. Its refusal to change has led many teams to abandon its concrete walls. But Oakland will live on, and, maybe one day, the underdog will win again.